2. The Incredible Hulk
Why The Franchise Failed: Too esoteric and ahead of its time, strange villains.
How It Re-Succeeded: Dumbed down slightly and threw in some excellent set pieces.
Well this one needs justifying, because you might tell me that any film which has to replace its main star for its 'sequel' can't be considered a re-invigorating success. I suppose there's a school for that argument, but please, let me explain. Louis Leterrier's film isn't a classic. Hell, I'd go as far as saying it's one of the weaker Marvel entries, Daredevil and Fantastic Four aside. But there's one thing it is, and that's functional. Please understand, that's not meant as an insult here. What I mean is that the film set out to do a job, and that was to prove a Hulk film was possible after Ang Lee's brave mess. The sad thing is that Lee's contribution came at a time when the comic book genre was still sorting out exactly what it was. In such a situation, wild innovation and esoteric-ism don't tend to be greeted with such a warm embrace, and safer, formulaic, more blockbuster-friendly fare is preferred. This isn't necessarily a bad thing there's no point trying to run before you can walk. So when Hulk came stumbling out the movie trenches first in the guise of a mood piece with strange dog-monsters and a watery Nick Nolte, it got shot to pieces. I personally thought it was good, but I can see why it got a negative reaction while Ang Lee was fascinated with Bruce Banner's duality and gave us some beautiful shots to work with, it just wasn't what we were expected from a film about a big green rage monster. So when Leterrier stepped into the breach he knew he had to make something sufficiently bang-for-your-buck, and I think he managed it. I mean, just look at the set-pieces. The Brazil foot-chase was excellent, the Hulk's rampage on campus was inventive and brutal (remember when Blonsky gets kicked into a tree?) and I reckon I'm possibly the only person who really liked the Hulk-Abomination Harlem smash-off. If you wanted thrills and a safe grounding for a franchise, I reckon Leterrier did a good job it's not his fault Ed Norton was ejected from The Avengers.